


Just Our Luck

by RoRoWeasley



Category: Primeval
Genre: ARC in Lockdown, Adventure & Romance, Connor-babble, Diictodons, F/M, Injured Jess, Jecker - Freeform, Jess being awesome, Jess is out in the Field, Music Festival, Romantic Fluff, Smilodon, background matt/emily, injured matt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 07:50:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14744837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoRoWeasley/pseuds/RoRoWeasley
Summary: Jess and Becker are taking a temporary time-out from their jobs when the inevitable happens. Far from London and with the ARC team having problems of their own, it's up to the couple to restore calm and order. With a flood of diictodons, twenty thousand witnesses including press, a truck full of explosives and Jess with next-to-no field experience, what could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or any of the series characters featured. Any references to names and businesses are entirely fictitious, though this story is based upon a recent outing of mine. I don’t own anything other than this particular story. Originally written back in 2013.

**JUST OUR LUCK  
** a Primeval short story by Ro-RoWeasley.

* * *

“But we just have to go and see her, she’s like the next big thing!”  
  
“Jess I don’t want to my ears to bleed. Besides it’s too early for dancing, let’s go see the acoustic guy! We can sit undercover from the sun, snuggle up for a bit and enjoy some relaxing smooth guitar!”  
  
“Early? Hil, it’s one in the afternoon! There are acoustic acts on all day, I don’t want to miss this!”  
  
“Well at least you’re not shooting down the snuggling.”  
  
Jess pouted. “But with dancing we can have more fun and let off some steam. That’s the whole point in being here, we haven’t had this much time off since our honeymoon!”  
  
Their playful argument over who to see next had been going on for the last few minutes. As she swatted him on the chest, Jess grinned and reached up to peck her husband on the lips. Captain Becker returned her grin and laced their hands together as they continued walking across the field.  
  
The extensive field was part of a country park in Yorkshire currently hosting its annual music festival, though not quite as well-known as others happening across the country over the summer. It was somewhere quiet and out of the way, with a selection of up-and-coming acts taking to the seven stages dotted around.  
  
Most importantly, it was far away from London and the ARC. Lester had insisted that their first wedding anniversary (which wasn’t until tomorrow) be well away from the influence of anomalies despite Becker’s protests at being needed. And so here they currently were; no dinosaurs, EMDs or security uniform in sight as they sported festival gear.  
  
Jess being Jess was in her usual bright colours, wearing a pink playsuit with a green floral pattern and her favourite lime green Hunter wellies. In her curly auburn hair was a daisy flower headband, and from her shoulder swung a small brown satchel.  
  
Hilary Becker was in dark jeans and a red checked open shirt with a black tee underneath. Despite Jess’s valiant efforts to force him into red wellies, he had insisted on wearing his black work combat boots. No matter the amount of reassurance he’d been given from Lester of having a quiet weekend to themselves, the soldier wasn’t about to become complacent.  
  
He put his arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her closer as they walked across the extensive field, and then teasingly sighed. Sometimes he really wondered how he’d missed the moment she had gotten under his skin.  
  
“Fine, we’ll go and see your pop princess!” he grinned down at her. “But only because I love you.”  
  
She beamed and leaned up to kiss him. “Yey, thank you, thank you, thank you!”   
  
The rest of the day passed smoothly with Jess and Becker watching a variety of pop, acoustic and rock artists they both wanted to see, with plenty of dancing and even more snuggling up in the acoustic tents.  
  
Finally after a scrumptious dinner of Chinese noodles (without prawn crackers much to Becker’s disappointment) and a few glasses of cider, the pair made their way back to the campsite. It was situated to the left hand side of the main field away from the main throng. Lester had managed to secure backstage access passes meaning they were in a special guest area and even allowed to meet certain acts. In their campsite were other guests such as relatives of performers and competition winners.  
  
They stayed up talking for a while before eventually falling asleep, Jess in Becker’s arms with her head on his bare chest. 

* * *

Jess woke to the smell of frying food the following morning. It was Hil, outside their two-man tent making breakfast.  
  
“Morning, beautiful,” he said, poking his head through the door.  
  
“Morning,” Jess replied, wincing at how groggy her voice sounded. But she soon cheered up as he handed her a mug of coffee. “Mmm, just what I need!”  
  
She pulled a hoodie on over her pyjamas and joined him outside, sitting in one of the camp chairs. Soon he handed her a plate of sausages, bacon, scrambled egg and beans.  
  
“Happy Anniversary, Mrs Becker.”  
  
Jess couldn’t help but beam. She was so lucky to have such a wonderful person such as the man before her as her husband. He meant the world to her and they both knew it. She put the plate on the floor as she stood up and walked over to him and sat on his lap. Surrounding his neck with her arms she pulled him to her and their lips met in a gentle loving kiss.  
  
“Happy Anniversary, Captain” she whispered. She then walked back to her seat and dug into her food while Hil went into the tent to get dressed.  
  
When he emerged a few moments later, Jess noticed he had his work boots on again. “Don’t you have any wellies?” she asked. He gave her a look.  
  
“You know I do, Jess, but I can’t run in wellies.” When Jess looked confused he elaborated. “I know this is supposed to be a weekend for us to get away from the ARC but I just can’t let myself relax or forget.  
  
“I’m sure we won’t have any anom-”  
  
“Don’t jinx it, Jess, please! I’m sorry, I’m just worried. I don’t want anything to ruin our day.”  
  
Jess sighed and stood up to embrace him. Trust him to still have the ARC at the front of his mind, he’d lived and breathed it every day for so long without a break. Well Jess decided to attempt to change his mind.  
  
“It’s okay. Anyway, they’ll be better than wellies at getting men off of my back!” She teased and the smile on his face then told Jess she didn’t need to worry any more. “Right, my turn to get changed!”  
  
“Would you like my help?” he asked hopefully.  
  
“Be my guest!”

* * *

 

Later that day, Captain Becker had branched off from Jess to visit the loos as she was busy hanging out backstage with a popular girl band.  
  
He chose the ones by their campsite as he enjoyed the walk. The path was a dirt track closed in and lined with trees, with a steep slope to one side, giving it an isolated but cosy feel. There was also a small river nearby; the sound was comforting and reminded him weirdly of his childhood home.  
  
On the return trip his attention was caught by some all too familiar shapes against a tree, easily missable by passers-by. His heart leapt into his mouth as his brain processed what he was seeing. He scrambled up the slope to the tree and had to shield his eyes from the sudden light.  
  
There, a metre from the edge of the slope, crystal-like shards of golden glow shining bright even in the current daylight was an anomaly.  
  
“Just our luck,” he muttered, and then he was running.

 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO  


Jess said goodbye to the pop band she’d been chatting to for the past twenty minutes, and headed back around the rear of the stage to join the main path. It had been lovely to hang out with a popular group she loved and talk about the latest fashion collections, but she was beginning to miss her soldier company! So, as the girls moved to get some food, Jess took the opportunity to hunt down her husband who had still not returned from the toilets.  
  
She guessed he’d taken the lengthy walk back to their campsite as even Jess had to admit it was beautiful. The way the sun shone through the tiny gaps of the trees allowing them to cast shadows along the dirt track floor, and the colourful flowers in bloom along the slope just filled Jess with a wave of freedom and happiness.  
  
She was about to turn the corner when the soldier who was the subject of her search came sprinting from the opposite direction.  
  
“There you are! I was just coming to look for yo-” Jess began, but Becker cut her off.  
  
“Jess, there’s an anomaly about 200m back down that path on the top of the slope through the trees. We’ve got to do something!”  
  
Despite the urgent need to protest that Hil was just seeing things, Jess immediately resumed Field Coordinator mode. “Right, okay, we need to get it under control before something comes through.”  
  
“I know, I’m heading to the truck now to get a locking device and some EMDs.”  
  
Jess nodded, before rummaging through her bag. “Right, good. Take these,” she ordered, thrusting an earpiece and a black box into his hand.  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, Jess blushed.  
  
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t like to be complacent, Captain! I’m always prepared,” she replied briskly, failing to suppress a knowing grin.  
  
They both put their earpieces in and set to work. Jess hurried off to contact the management in case of an incursion while Becker headed to his truck, trying and failing to get in contact with the ARC. Instead of a reply, all he got was static.  
  
“Matt, do you copy? Abby? Carter? Jess, aren’t these comms supposed to have a national range?” he asked, become slightly irritated.  
  
“ _Of course. Are you unable to contact the ARC either?”  
  
_ “No, it’s just static.”  
  
_“Well, keep trying, it might just be a glitch in the system.”  
  
_ But the soldier wasn’t convinced. “Jess, if there was a glitch in the system _we_ wouldn’t be talking to each other.”  
  
_“I know, sorry, I’m just trying to avoid thinking of alternatives but I think that’s all we’ve got left.”  
  
_ “You think it’s in Lockdown?” He had arrived at his truck and was pulling a locking device from the flatbed and an EMD case. He didn’t think it would be wise to walk around with it in his hands just yet.  
  
_“That’s the only other explanation I can come up with. That also means mobile communications are useless too.”  
  
_ Becker nodded even though he knew there wasn’t much point. “We’re on our own.”  
  
_“Oh god, what am I going to do?! I don’t do this Becker, I don’t do the physical stuff, I co-ordinate!”_ Jess panicked.  
  
“Jess, calm down, it’s fine. We’ll just have to manage, hopefully.” he added, starting to walk back to the anomaly site. “As long as we don’t get anything too problematic for an incurs-”  
  
_“Becker!”  
  
_ But too late, the damage had been done. No sooner had the words left his mouth did the Head of Security see what had possibly made Jess interrupt him.  
  
“Damn,” was all he could say.  
  
A flood of tiny beaver-like creatures suddenly stormed the festival field. Catching passers-by by surprise as the mass scurried into every corner; music tents, food tents, merchandise tents. And the stages.  
  
“Diictodons,” Jess breathed. “Bloody hell, we’ve got one hell of a job on our hands! Becker, get the anomaly locked ASAP. I’ll get a cover story circling.”  
  
_“What did you have in mind?”_  
  
“Escaped rare beavers from the local zoo?”

_“That could work,”_ Becker mused. _“There’s a river opposite the anomaly, they swam down?”  
  
_ Jess grimaced. “Okay it’s not the best plan, but do you have any better suggestions?”  
  
_“Nope.”  
  
_ “Okay, rare beavers it is! Just lock that thing so we can concentrate on rounding these things up!”  
  
_"Copy, Jess.”  
  
_ Jess ran to the backstage area at the rear of the field, hoping to pinpoint the management team. On her way up she noticed festival-attendees cooing over the new arrivals. She was eternally grateful that nothing worse had come through.  
  
The Field Coordinator tried Abby’s mobile again but it was a dead signal. “Dammit!” she exclaimed. “Of all the days for this to happen!”  
  
She then began reeling through the contacts on her phone in an attempt to identify an ARC member who wasn’t on shift today but the only one she found, soldier Sally Wainwright, was on medical leave so that was a dead end. And Lester had no meetings scheduled for today so he was likely to be within the ARC. It was hopeless.  
  
“Excuse me,” Jess asked the first person she came across who happened to be a security steward. “I need someone to inform the management here about a pack of beavers from the private zoo a few miles from here. I am a representative and would appreciate if we could have aid in returning these creatures to their area, please?”  
  
“Certainly, Madam. Please follow me.”  
  
Meanwhile, Captain Hilary Becker was finishing up with the anomaly. Pressing the required keys on the pad, the pulse caused the golden ball to retract.  
  
“The anomaly’s locked, Jess.”  
  
_“Copy that, now get back here and help me!”_ Jess pleaded. _“I’ve informed the management and they’re going to put out a call to the field asking everyone to help.”  
  
_ “Do you think that’ll work?” Becker asked doubtedly as he hurried back to his wife.  
  
_“No but again it’s the only chance we’ve got. They’re gonna tell everyone to guide the beavers back to the river. We’ll have to fish them out and put them back through. We are_ not _taking all of these back with us! As much as I love Sid and Nancy, a few more thousand playmates would just be way too much! We could even have sent them back too if the ARC wasn’t in Lockdown.”  
  
_ “Good plan, Jess.”  
  
_“Thanks.”_  
  
A few minutes later Becker caught up with Jess and handed her an EMD which like him she slung over her shoulder.  
  
“Do you think we should tranq them?” Jess asked but Becker shook his head.  
  
“There’s a chance that even on the lowest setting their small bodies might not be able to take it.”  
  
“Aww, is Abby finally rubbing off on you?” Jess teased.  
  
“Shut up,” he retorted, but grinned and pecked her. Well, it would have been a peck if Jess hadn’t held on and made it longer. She looked him up and down, taking in his his green t-shirt and blue jeans tucked into his combat boots.  
  
“You really should wear civvies more often at work,” she whispered and laughed when he glared at her.  
  
“This is the perfect example of how the uniforms promote authority! I mean, look at me! I don’t look like a professional security soldier, I look like a…farmer!” he half-joked.  
  
She shook her head and descended into a fit of giggles, before taking his hand and leading him in the direction of the chipmunk-beaver flooded field.  
  
“Come on, let’s put your sheepdog impression to the test!”


	3. Chapter 3

** CHAPTER THREE **

****

Back at the ARC, Matt Anderson was in his lab busy topping up the soil in his rapidly growing exotic plant collection. To anybody else who wandered in, it would have looked like your run-of-the-mill biology storage. There was a palm tree in one corner, and several sunflowers and pansies on the work surface nearest the door. The plant his father had given him several years ago took centrepiece on the main workstation in the middle of the room, next to the vase of lilies and roses from Emily, behind his laptop. Dotted here and there on racks and shelves stood more impressive plants, such as cacti, rainforest ferns, bright orange hibiscus flowers and a venus fly trap.  
  
Plain and everyday weeds in this time, but to Matt they were so much more. They were luxuries, exceptionally rare to come by and he was blessed to count himself among the few agents lucky enough to witness such small and yet incredible beauty.  
  
Back in the future, the earth was a sterile and inhospitable wasteland. What remained of humanity had been forced underground, as the surface was just incapable of sustaining life, other than freaky mutations known to the ARC as future predators.  
  
But that future didn’t exist anymore, Matt had to keep reminding himself. He had succeeded in completing the mission he had waited so long to fulfil. Even though he had accepted that he was here in this time to stay now, he still could not bring himself to take everything around him for granted. And he probably never would.  
  
He was brought abruptly out of his thoughts by the flashing lights and sirens indicating an anomaly. Matt was out of his lab in a flash but before he could get any further an automated voice echoed down the corridor and everywhere within the ARC.  
  
“Lockdown…Lockdown…Lockdown…Lockdown.”  
  
The team leader spun around as the metal shutter at the end of the corridor nearest to him began to close. He activated his earpiece and was immediately assaulted by an explosion of chatter.  
  
 _“Matt are you alright, did you make it out?”  
  
_ _“Anderson, I’m sorry, I had no choice.”  
  
_ _“Can you see anything?”  
  
_ _“Watch your back, this thing is brutal. Okay, maybe it would have been wiser to have someone else there with you to watch your back but you know what I mean.”  
  
_ _“Connor!”  
  
_ “Woah, woah, woah!” Matt replied, silencing them all. “One at a time. Phillips?”  
  
The stand-in Field Co-ordinator took a deep breath. _“The anomaly showed up on the ADD indicating it was here. At first I thought it was a fault in the system but then the cameras caught footage of a smilodon. I had no choice but to activate Lockdown. It’s only activated in your area though, the hub’s still operational.”  
  
_ “Good call, Tony, you did right.” Matt couldn’t help but hand it to Becker (who’d insisted on a complete re-think of the Lockdown system after several near-disasters), for having the idea of the ADD operator being able to isolate the anomaly area without the entire building being rendered useless. However it was in the process of being sorted, which right now was the worst possible timing.   
  
_“But now you’re stuck. Do you have an EMD?”_ Phillips asked.  
  
Matt paused for a split second. “Yes.”  
  
 _“Matt, that is a lie! We’re coming to help you,”_ Emily said determinedly.  
  
 _“I need Jess’s help in unlocking Lockdown, that’s one of the few flaws remaining in the system; we haven’t transferred anybody’s clearance codes into the system for access. She was due to help me when she and Becker got back. I’ve tried her mobile but it appears the communications cut-off hasn’t been sorted yet either,”_ Connor said miserably.  
  
 _“It seems all the entrance doors of the ARC have been sealed too. Temple, just exactly how many parts of this **have** been sorted?” _ the field co-ordinator asked, irritated.  
  
 _“Like I said, I need Jess’s help. And Becker’s actually as he’s Head of Secur-”_  
  
“Well, neither of them are here, so do the best you can on your own and get Phillips to help you as well,” Matt cut them off, trying his best to ignore the deep purring sound echoing down the long corridor. He grabbed a fire extinguisher off its post behind his lab door and got into a defensive stance facing the direction of the noise.   
  
“For now, I manage on my own.” 

* * *

“Of all the times for this to happen!” Connor cursed, fiddling with wires under the ADD. He was trying to rewire the mainframe to his laptop for better access. He nodded his thanks as Tony passed him a pair of pliers. “The only thing we need now is for an anomaly to open where Jess and Becker are, where we can’t help them.”  
  
Emily was standing next to one of the many screens watching Matt anxiously on the CCTV. It had been over an hour since Lockdown had initiated and Matt had been stuck playing cat-and-mouse with the creature, each time narrowly escaping. “Matt, how are you holding up?”  
  
Immediately she saw Matt spin around and look straight at the camera. _“Fine. How’s everything your end?”  
  
_ “Abby’s in the menagerie calming down the agitated creatures and Connor’s nearly hackled into the lockdown program.”  
  
“It’s hacked, Emily,” the scientist’s voice called from the floor, as he sprang up and began typing furiously on the keyboards.  
  
“I apologise, I meant _hacked_ ,” she corrected.   
  
Matt chuckled in her ear. _“It’s alright, I know what you meant.”  
  
_ Then Emily gasped as she watched the smilodon stalking towards Matt again, who was using a makeshift barrier of lab furniture as a shield. “Matt, watch out!” she warned.  
  
She watched him spring into action. He leapt effortlessly over the assortment of tables and chairs and aimed a blow at the side of the leopard’s head with his only weapon, a fire extinguisher. However it was too quick for him and lunged, lashing out with a giant clawed-paw. Matt ducked and rolled past it, getting to his feet again.  
  
The smilodon seemingly roared and twisted around, eager to catch its prey. Emily’s heart was in her throat.   
  
The game continued, the smilodon trying desperately to outsmart Matt’s quick movements but he was somehow managing to hold his own, an impressive feat considering the narrow width of the corridor.  
  
“GOT IT, YES!” Connor exclaimed.  
  
 _“Okay, it’s opening. Nice job,”_ Matt’s Irish drawl assured them.  
  
But as Emily continued to watch, she saw Matt was far from safe. Sensing its new freedom the smilodon manoeuvred itself in front of the opening shutter facing Matt, ready to pounce. Taking no notice of the weapon in its prey’s hands, the creature swiped causing Matt to retaliate and swipe back. But it was exactly what it wanted as then the creature caught the extinguisher with the back of its giant paw and sent it flying backwards, still attached to Matt’s fingers.  
  
Emily cried out and watched helplessly as her lover was flown backwards from the force of the blow, into the now scattered and broken barrier of tables and chairs. As he rebounded to the floor and lay still, and she caught sight of a dark stain forming on his chest, Emily ignored the shouts and protests from the team around her and the newly flashing lights and klaxons as she flew from the room.  
  
 _“Anomaly located in Helmsley, Yorkshire. That’s where Jess and Becker are,”_ Tony’s voice echoed in her ear but she didn’t process it. She slid effortlessly under the opening shutter in the hub and was running as fast as her legs could carry her.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR  
** ****  
  


If Jess thought she’d seen plenty of chaos from behind the ADD, this was complete and utter pandemonium! Gazing around the festival site she moaned as she saw diictodons everywhere, several members of the press taking snaps of the mess and many of the twenty-thousand attendees totally unsure of what to do. Young kids were chasing the prehistoric beavers away, scattering them in all directions. All the tents she could see were near tatters, and hook-ups for the food stalls and stages were in danger of being cut-off.  
  
For the last half-hour, Jess and Becker had been trying to round the creatures up as best they could. But without anything to sedate them other than the EMDs that they refused to use, and not wanting to risk the anomaly being discovered, the job was harder than first thought. They regrouped in the centre.  
  
“Oh, Hil, what are we going to do?” Jess asked desperately. “This is awful!”  
  
“I know,” he sighed. “But we keep trying. Ask everyone around you to help, tell them to grab one or more and bring them to the anomaly site. Where’s that call they promised to put out?”  
  
“Maybe they didn’t take me seriously enough, I had no ID to show them and I don’t exactly look like a private zoo worker!” she complained, gesturing to herself.  
  
“Jess, the evidence is right in front of their eyes how can they _not_ take you seriously?” he replied, nodding at the scene around them. He cupped her face in his hands, and then rested his forehead on hers before kissing her gently. “We’ll be fine, just be thankful nothing more serious came through, that _would_ have been a disaster.”  
  
She smiled bravely up at him before straightening up, shaking herself mentally and resumed her professional role. “Okay, let’s go.”  
  
As his wife ran off in the opposite direction, Becker turned and saw a large group of lads all between late-teens and mid-twenties walking towards him.  
  
“Are these your animals?” one of them asked, indicating the gun slung lazily across Becker’s front. He was about six-foot tall, dressed in knee-length khaki shorts and a band tee. He offered his hand, which Becker shook. “I’m Daniel and these are my boys, looks like you could use some help?”  
  
“Becker. And yeah, they are. We’re having maintenance work done at our private zoo a few miles from here but one of the workers managed to leave their pen open and they got out, came down the river,” the soldier lied.  
  
“They’re rather odd-looking. What are they, green beavers with fangs?” one of the younger ones said with a grin.  
  
“Pretty much, rare beavers and thankfully herbivores,” Becker muttered. “Look boys, no time to argue. Just please grab as many as you can and follow me. Get as many people as you can to do the same.”  
  
The boys followed orders and spread out, running, diving and intercepting.  
  
Meanwhile, Jess was having worse luck. Everyone around her just seemed to stand and watch as she hurriedly chased a small group of the troublesome incursion. Starting to get annoyed she nearly yelled at the ones nearest to her.  
  
“Don’t just stand there, I’d get the job done much quicker if I had hel-” but she was cut off by a loud voice echoing around the field. Someone had finally got to the message, Jess sighed in relief.  
  
 _“Attention, this is a public announcement. We apologise for the slight disturbance, some rare species of beaver have escaped from the local zoo. We ask all of you to please take action and aid two members of the team in returning these creatures safely to their habitat. Rangers Jessica and Hilary Becker, who can be identified as the ones carrying tranquilisers, ask you to please lead these beavers to the river. Stewards will be on hand to direct you. Thank you for your cooperation.”  
  
_ Now instead of laughing at her, the crowd of spectators started hunting and helping. Jess glanced around at the scene and smiled at the instant change. Stewards in their fluorescent jackets were walking towards the path leading to the anomaly site, already directing several groups carrying struggling diictodons.  
  
 _“Jess, seems the call did get through after all. Nice job.”  
  
_ “Thanks. Becker, how are we going to get them back through the anomaly?”  
  
 _“Well, now we have a lot more people on our side, why don’t you head back to the anomaly site. Check that it’s still open, for one. The river’s the opposite side to the anomaly; get everyone to assemble the creatures down the path in between.”  
  
_ “But how are we going to get them back through without people finding out the truth?” Jess asked, worried. It would have been far easier with a bigger team of ARC field operatives, in fact it would have been a piece of cake, but that obviously wasn’t the case.  
  
 _“Roll-call,”_ Becker said simply.  
  
“What?”  
  
 _“Don’t let anyone actually put them in the river, say you need to do a roll-call, a head-count, as part of regulation.”  
  
_ “Becker, there are several thousand diictodons. Why would anyone be so stupid as to begin a headcount?” Jess asked flatly.  
  
 _“To bide us time. We can’t put them back through without help from the ARC, not without a leak.”  
  
_ “We already have several leaks, from the press?”  
  
 _“As long as no one sees the anomaly, we can confidently cover up the creature incident.”  
  
_ Jess nodded. “Okay. How long do you think we’ll need?”  
  
 _"How fast do you think Temple is at programme-hacking?”  
  
_ Jess chuckled then let out a breath. “Last time, it was less than half an hour but that was just remembering a simple password. Now we’re beginning to revamp the system. I was supposed to help Connor with it all when we got back, he obviously didn’t get very far on his own as we can’t contact them! God, of all the times! And what if they’ve got a deadly incursion? We got lucky here, but what if they got worse?”  
  
Captain Becker was working with four lads rounding up a pack of eleven diictodons on the opposite side of the field by the main stage. He understood Jess’s concern very well as it was exactly what was going through his head though he had pushed it back to be able to concentrate on his present job. Even if the ARC was in deep trouble, there was no way either he nor Jess could help.  
  
But it was a bugger the situation also being reversed. He and Jess were in desperate need of specialist assistance but there was none. _Yet,_ he mentally reminded himself. They’d dealt with Lockdown before and without much incident, and he was confident they’d do it again. He also had a lot of faith in Connor and his ability to at least get communication back on track; after all it was largely his own technology they all used.  
  
“The ARC will be fine, Jess,” he reassured her as he dived atop a particularly fast diictodon. He chuckled to himself as memories of his first encounter with the creatures flashed in his mind. An anomaly at a hospital where they’d picked up Sid and Nancy, who’d become Abby and Connor’s pets, and mascots of the Anomaly Research Centre.  
  
Picking himself up, he and others around him headed towards the anomaly site. “Now, how’s it going your end?”  
  
 _“So not good, Hil. The ones we’ve managed to capture keep leaping from people hands! I really think we’ll have to resort to emergency measures, the EMDs. You must be careful though, there are live fuses around the edges of the field connected to fireworks set for tonight.”  
  
_ “Okay, you think you can handle it?” Jess had the bare minimum of weapons training and even less fieldwork experience. Nevertheless, he was confident she could handle an EMD, but whether she felt confident was another matter.  
  
 _“I’ll be fine. Thank God you taught me how to use them!” she answered. “Just be careful out in the open field, electrical wires and stuff. I’d rather not have to deal with insurance for fire damage, and I’m sure neither would Lester.”  
  
_ Becker chuckled. “Alright, good luck.”  
  
 _“You too.”  
  
_ Becker turned to the lad nearest him and offered him the diictodon in his hands. The lad nodded, took it and walked off. Becker grabbed his EMD, charged it up on the smallest setting and began to aim at the few creatures still scuttling around him.  
  
After a few minutes, he’d attracted a small crowd who were gathering up as many of the unconscious creatures they could carry. Satisfied, Becker moved in rotation around the field, shooting the tiny creatures and getting members of the public to take them away. Things started to get a hell of a lot easier when someone had the sense to drive a trailer around the field for the animals to be placed into for quicker transportation.  
  
“Jess, was that your idea?” he asked his wife, knowing the answer already.  
  
 _“I am the Field-Coordinator, aren’t I?”_ she answered brightly.


	5. Chapter 5

** CHAPTER FIVE **

Captain Becker was having difficulty capturing the last few. He was at the far right hand side of the field lined with a deep green hedge. The diictodon he was currently chasing kept managing to dodge his EMD blasts. Abby no doubt would have scolded him for scaring it out of its wits, but Becker was way past the point of caring now. It was time to get everything over and done with.  
  
It had been nearly three hours since he’d first stumbled upon the anomaly, yet it felt like they were no closer to gathering up the invasion and sending them back to their own time. By now the sun was beginning to sink beneath the horizon in the west, casting a golden glow across the open country landscape, turning the sky slightly pink.  
  
Any other time he would have spent the evening lounging on the grass with Jess as they watched. But Becker had no time to enjoy it, as he fired again only for the shot to whizz past the troublesome prehistoric creature, missing it by mere inches. The soldier cursed but then stopped in his tracks as he realised just what it had actually hit instead.   
  
One of the live fuses connected to several hundred fireworks.  
  
His hand flew to his earpiece. “Jess, how fast can you get to me?”  
  
 _“Why, what’s happened? Is everything okay?”_ her concerned voice asked.  
  
“The fireworks,” he answered simply.  
  
 _“Oh god, Becker!”_ she exclaimed. _“Okay, keep everyone away from there, I’m on my way.”_  
  
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he replied shortly before turning around and bellowing at the crowds closest to him. “Okay everyone, get back! Clear this area now, there are live fireworks here.”  
  
Somehow, they took him seriously and hurried off in the opposite direction. Glancing back, he saw the spark on the fuse was already beginning to travel. Fast.  
  
“Hil!” Jess called as she sprinted up to him, EMD in her hand. “Come on, let’s get away from here!”  
  
“No, Jess, we have to stop it first. Come on, we’ve got to follow its path,” he said, grabbing her hand and running off.  
  
“And how do you plan on doing that? By throwing yourself on it?” she asked incredulously.  
  
“I considered it, that’s Plan B.” Catching the look on her face he continued, “For now, we catch up with it first.”  
  
Thankfully that part didn’t take too long. However, Becker’s sense of dread rose rapidly as he saw just how close the fuse was to the first set.  
  
They couldn’t stop it.  
  
Grabbing Jess, he threw them both to the floor, shielding her body with his and holding onto her as tight as he could, ears braced for the sudden shrill whistles and bangs.  
  
Upon hearing nothing but the general noise of the festival around him, Becker slowly and cautiously got to his feet before helping Jess up. Looking around he saw everything was apparently normal. Jess scuttled up behind him as he approached one firework set to go off.  
  
“What happened?” Jess asked.  
  
“Looks like it burnt out. Lucky for us,” he breathed.  
  
Jess breathed a sigh of relief. That could have gotten messy.  
  
“You two alright?” a Yorkshire-accented voice shouted behind them. Turning, Jess saw a male steward about in his late forties, dressed in a florescent yellow jacket hurrying up to them, the escapee diictodon in his clutches. As the pair nodded, he continued.  
  
“I ‘eard someone say the fireworks ‘ad been set accidentally. Not to worry, we ‘ave emergency rubber coatings on ‘em during the day in case o’ sabotage. They were due to be taken off around ten later on.”  
  
“Well, thank your lucky stars it worked!”  
  
“Indeed, Ma’am,” the steward replied, smiling at Jess. “You two be the zookeepers in charge o’ these creatures, yeah?” he asked, gesturing to the struggling creature in his arms.  
  
“Yeah,” Becker breathed; still recovering it seemed from the near-miss. “Not long now until we have the entire flock secure though.”  
  
The steward nodded as he began to walk off. “I’ll leave ya to it.”  
  
“That was close, Jess,” Hil said, giving her a weak smile before wrapping his arms around her and planting a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
“Don’t scare me like that again!” Jess scolded him. “Come on let’s get the last of these blasted creatures rounded up. I hope the ARC gets sorted soon. I’m really not fond of field work.”  
  
Becker chuckled at her comment before taking her hand and heading off to help gather what they had left of the incursion. Another hour later, having made sure all the diictodons from the festival field itself had been secured, Jess and Becker split up. Becker to guard the locked anomaly to make sure no one stumbled upon it in the rapidly approaching darkness, and Jess to check out sightings of the prehistoric beavers from the backstage area.  
  
Jess was currently searching the guest car park. This was where not only their truck was parked but where the performers’ tents and buses were too, as well as the band check-in point. It was nearly dark now and she couldn’t help but chew her bottom lip as she thought about the ARC.  
  
For all she knew, there might not be anyone there to help them. She felt awful, they had no idea what the incursion was or how close they were to solving the problem. But as it was over three hours since their anomaly had opened and they’d realised they’d lost contact, it was obvious to Jess this was a very problematic incursion. That didn’t help her already whirring mind as it ran through possibilities of creatures.  
  
When her ears caught the sound of rustling from the surrounding hedge, she immediately snapped out of her worries. Panicking was not going to help the ARC in the slightest. Plus, she knew the team were more than capable of handling Lockdown. She had absolute faith in Connor and his ability to overcome it. After all, she had seen him override it with her own eyes, something that was above ever her own computer expertise.  
  
She cursed quietly at the irony. She and Connor, along with Becker, had begun working on reprogramming Lockdown to make it safer yet just as effective. Yet, just as they needed the back doors and loopholes they’d been planning, they were not there to use.  
  
Jess walked cautiously towards the sound, EMD trained roughly on the spot ready to fire. As she advanced she couldn’t help but feel a slight thrill. Fieldwork may not be her preferred line of duty within the ARC but she couldn’t deny she understood to a degree Becker’s ever-present enthusiasm.  
  
Feeling the rush of adrenaline through her veins the beam of light on the EMD fell upon a stray diictodon in the hedge. It appeared to be chewing on something but Jess didn’t give time to observe just what as she grimaced slightly in apology before stunning the tiny creature. However, just at the last second it moved and instead the electric shot hit the grass and revealed just what the beaver had been munching on, causing the Field Coordinator to yelp in surprise.  
  
Quickly scanning her eyes ahead to where it was heading, Jess groaned at her stupidity as she saw the fuse connected to a truck full of fireworks twenty metres away. Why it was set in such a dangerous place, Jess didn’t have to time to think about.  
  
She just had time to run in the opposite direction before the spark on the fuse hit, the resulting explosion and shockwave sending her sprawling.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Emily Anderson’s heart pounded in her chest as she sprinted to Matt’s side. She could hear men on her tail carrying EMDs ready to take out the creature but Emily didn’t fully register them. All she could think about was reaching Matt before the worst happened.  
  
Skidding to a halt beside him, she knelt and cradled his head in her lap, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Matt, I’m here,” she said softly and to her relief found he was still awake.  
  
“Emily, get away from here, I don’t want it to get you too,” he breathed.  
  
The former Victorian figured the sabre-toothed creature had wandered down a corridor away from here, as it was nowhere in sight. “Matt, it’s alright, it’s gone. Carter and his men are taking care of it. The medics are on their way, we’ll take you up to the medical bay and you can get fixed up.”  
  
Matt nodded, screwing his eyes up and wincing in pain. That moment the medics arrived and Matt was hauled onto a stretcher and rushed away, Emily staying with him the whole time holding his hand.  
  
_“Emily, how is he?”_ Abby asked through the comm.  
  
“He’s going to be okay,” she swallowed, smiling down at her husband.

* * *

Back in the hub, Connor Temple’s fingers were working furiously. He’d opened his big mouth too soon as Jess and Becker were indeed in trouble, and there was no way of getting to them. Something was wrong with the entire Lockdown programme, meaning that although the shutters had opened allowing them access to Matt and the smilodon, that was all that had happened. That, and the ADD detecting an anomaly.  
  
However, communications were still down and the exits still locked, not allowing anyone in or out of the building. The worst case scenario when they knew a team was needed up in Yorkshire to aid the celebrating couple.  
  
“Do you need any help, Con?” Abby asked, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
“For the minute just leave me to it, Abs, I need to get this done,” he replied absently, but turned to her and shot her an apologetic smile. “Tony, what can you tell me?”  
  
“Matt’s settled in the medical bay. He’s pretty beaten up but Jones says he’ll be fine in a couple of days.” He shrugged. “As for the ARC itself, there doesn’t appear to be anything I can do. The doors aren’t accepting any override access codes; we’re relying solely on you, Temple.”  
  
Connor let out a breath. “Challenge accepted.”

* * *

Stumbling slightly as the shockwave hit, Captain Becker looked over in horror as a ball of fire erupted into the sky accompanied by many loud bangs and streaks of colour.  
  
_Jess.  
  
_ Before his brain could even register the action, he was running. “Jess, can you hear me?” he shouted into his earpiece. “Jessica, answer me, are you alright?”  
  
Silence, followed by a moan before a quiet voice groggily replied. _“Yeah, just a little shaken. And my head hurts, ow. My fault…sorry…”  
  
_ “Stay there and don’t move, okay, I’m coming for you. Keep talking and don’t close your eyes, Jess, do you understand?” he told her slowly but firmly. He didn’t know how badly she was hurt but judging by how her voice wavered she was struggling to keep conscious.  
  
_“M’sorry, Hil, should’ve looked…before I shot,”_ Becker was getting worried now, Jess sounded breathless. He forced his legs to go faster, only slowing briefly to call out to a first aid station demanding a pair of medics follow him, all the while keeping Jess talking.  
  
As he finally found her he immediately knelt down beside her and quickly checked her over himself, wincing as he felt warm blood come away on his hand. She’d clearly hit her head, hard.  
  
“Jess? Jess, look at me, honey. You’re okay,” he said softly, cupping her face in his hands and looking into her eyes. “She’s got a bad knock to the head.” He turned to the two medics who immediately began to grab gauzes and other supplies out of the kit.  
  
“Hi Jess, my name is Kate, try and stay still for me okay? I’m going to look at your head wound,” the female paramedic ordered as she began applying slight pressure to the back of her head to stop the bleeding. Jess nodded and gripped Becker’s hand like it was a lifeline, and he gripped it just as fiercely back, an unspoken gesture of comfort.  
  
“Sorry…didn’t mean to shoot…” she mumbled. “…tried to run but then the truck blew…and I hit a tree.”  
  
“Hey Jess, I’m Kurt. I’m going to shine this pen into your eyes, can you follow my finger?” the second paramedic asked.  
  
“Yeah,” she croaked. As Becker began to rub soothing circles on her back, he could see for himself her eyes weren’t completely focused.  
  
“Mild concussion. Lots of rest for you sweetie when we get you of here. You’re gonna have one hell of a headache, but luckily there is no serious damage.” Kurt said brightly, giving the all clear for Becker to move her, who instantly enveloped her in his arms and got back to his feet.  
  
“I really hate field work,” Jess grumbled softly, nestling her head against his shoulder. Becker couldn’t help but chuckle as he followed the medics back to a waiting ambulance where he laid Jess on a gurney, standing back to allow the medics to make her comfortable.  
  
He was interrupted by a more than welcome voice in his ear.  
  
_“Captain Becker, Jess, do you read? This is the ARC. I’m tracking your black boxes, is everything okay?”  
  
_ Stepping out of the ambulance to gain privacy away from the ears of the medics he replied. _“_ Copy, Phillips, get two teams of men over here with a chopper, now. Jess is injured, I want her back at the ARC, ASAP.”  
  
_“How bad?”  
  
_ “Bad concussion. She’ll be fine but with the distance I’d rather have her in the medical bay there than in a hospital up here.”  
  
_“How have you been holding up? The ADDs registered an anomaly but as you’re in the middle of nowhere I have no visual.”  
  
_ “Ten-thousand diictodons, at the least. We’re just awaiting a team to get them back into the anomaly, we couldn’t risk it ourselves without a leak. What happened your end?”  
  
_“Smilodon,”_ Phillips answered solemnly. _“Matt’s down but he’ll live. Connor’s spent the best part of the last three hours trying to get through Lockdown, you guys have some serious improvements to make. But right now, the chopper is on its way to you, ETA thirty minutes. Abby’s keeping Jess talking.”  
  
_ “Copy, thanks,” he replied. “Emily?”  
  
_“Good evening, Captain. I hear you and Jess didn’t quite have the peaceful anniversary you’d hoped for?”_ Her voice was attempting humour but he didn’t miss the tremble underneath.  
  
“You can say that again. How’s Matt doing?”  
  
“Okay. He’s got multiple lacerations on his chest from the smilodon and has lost a lot of blood but Dr Jones has said he’ll be fine. How’s Jess?”  
  
“That’s great news, Emily. Jess is fine too, just a bad bump to the head.”  
  
_“I can talk to her myself you know,”_ Jess’s mock-annoyed voice chimed in, making Becker grin widely. If she was giving him lip now, she’d be perfectly alright. The soldier headed back into the ambulance and took his wife’s hand, stroking hair out of her face.  
  
“Chopper will be here in less than thirty minutes so we can take you home,” Becker assured her.  
  
“This is far beyond a simple escaped zoo animal job isn’t it?” Kate asked steadily behind them, Jess had begun talking to Emily through her earpiece.  
  
“Government. Classified,” Becker nodded back, before shaking her hand. “Thanks for your help.”  
  
“Our pleasure. I’ll get the field cleared for your transport,” Kate nodded before heading out.

* * *

_“This is Lieutenant Carter, Cap we’re approaching your position. Are we clear?"  
  
_ “Copy, Carter, you’re clear. It’s good to see you.”  
  
_“Likewise, Sir. We’ll get our Jess back home and to medical attention immediately on touchdown. The sooner that happens, the sooner she can return to her beloved ADD. Beta team are five minutes behind to deal with the incursion and anomaly.”  
  
_ “Thanks, Carter,” Jess answered sleepily, Becker smiled stroking her hair.  
  
_“All in a day’s work, Jess. See you very soon. And many happy returns.”  
  
_ Within ten minutes, Jess was on board the helicopter and they were headed back to London. As much as Becker would’ve wanted to stay and make sure the whole incursion was dealt with, he was needed more at Jess’s side. Twice on the flight back she slipped into unconsciousness but as soon as they were back she was given the all clear to sleep, Becker never leaving her side once.  
  
In the early hours of the morning, not long after Jess had re-awoken, his second-in-command came in to fill him in on the clean-up operation. All the diictodons had been returned and the cover story was still intact. The anomaly was yet to close but as soon as it did, the remaining men stationed at the site would drive Becker’s truck back to the ARC. As for the festival itself, as most of the acts had abandoned the schedule to help with the incursion, it would be extended for an extra day allowing for a proper finale and the chance for the acts to actually perform.  
  
Jess was back at her post as Field Co-ordinator three days later. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief as she flopped down on the chair, her hands caressed the keyboards.  
  
“I’ve missed you,” she cooed, thinking with a fond smile over the events of the past few days, and then grimaced as she thought how the anomaly had affectively ruined her and Becker’s anniversary.  
  
_We’ll stick much closer to home next time. I wonder if Hil would consider staying with his family?  
  
_ No sooner did the thought form in her mind did the anomaly klaxon blare out. Jess was immediately typing frantically to determine the location and give out the details.  
  
_Winchester, Hampshire._  
  
Jess sighed, shaking her head. “Next time we get offered a quiet weekend away from the ARC, I’m just going to refuse.”

  
***

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, you can probably guess where I got the inspiration for this from but in my defense, seeing people chasing desert camels at a music festival is rather an unusual occurrence! I have simply taken that bizarre experience and Primeval-ified it!


End file.
